I took the easy trail from the atmospheric station? It's part way up the memorial highway and it goes by the trail up Ester. I met two Quebecers in the parking lot and ended up hitched to them for a bit of the up and all of the down. Great people on the trails in the ADK park. The black flies were pesky when you got in the sun or stopped. There is a long section at about 3700 ft or so (according to my casio altimeter) that remains flat. When I was above the road/trail intersection and nearing the top I had a sudden onset of the worst cramps I have ever experienced in my legs. I sat down which meant I stopped....and I was above tree line so there was sun and of course all the black flies ever to live on the planet descended upon me. The funny thing about all of this was I couldn't move for about 10 minutes and so I donated several gallons of O pos to the swarm. I am embarrassed to say this but I believe it needs to be said, I didn't know they were black flies because I didn't know that black flies bite you without causing pain or a pinch. I only knew that black flies bite. By the time my cramps were sated and I reached the summit, I was a bloody mess. My ears were bloody and so were my ankles in a ring around my socks....I must have looked terrifying to all the people who were at the summit, sweat free and complaining of how difficult it had been to climb all the way from the parking lot (because the elevator was OOO). I learned a valuable lesson. Don't hike with just plain water. I have mixed the 32 oz gatorades with water in a 2 liter bottle for all my hikes since and have had far less cramping. I have also begun to eat guacamole and bananas in order to maintain potassium levels prior to hiking.

Skied the toll road on skinny skis very windy on turns and at top.. hard to stand. Nice ski out. But I lost my wedding ring either here or at Poko. $100 reward if somebody finds it. Please send me a message if you do. Thx.

Hiked up Whiteface Mt via the Connery Pond trail. I wanted to do this one for years and finally made it! The trail was easy to follow and rolled gently through the woods for the first 3 miles or so to the lean-to. From the lean-to up to the summit was the challenging part, but fun. The mountain was clouded in the whole time...until I started my descent. Made for an interesting experience. 8 hours round trip, with about 5 of that being from the lean-to to the summit and back to the lean-to. Took a lot of pictures and had a great time.

Climbed Whiteface Mountain 4867' via the 11.6 mile round trip trail from Connery Pond. Very scenic route with dense, dangerous snow creating snow bridges towards the summit (One was at least 20 feet deep) Regardless, we managed to make it to the summit after about 6.5 hours of intense, 55-60 degree incline hiking and some bushwacking due to low hanging branches weighed down by heavy snow and ice. Cold weather around -10 F made the summit less hospitable than I thought it would be and forced us to head back down after a quick water/snack break near the observatory. Trek down was long but fun with some glissading. Was an intense and long, but fun hike and will go again once the weather is warmer.

Pretty straightforward hike. Cool views of the ski trails and lifts in the summertime. Top of lift about 3/4 way up trail is a good place to have a quiet break with a view. You can actually buy water on the top from a vending machine if you're running low ;)

33rd ADK high peak after Esther earlier in the morning. Descended the south trail to Connery Pond. Very steep descent. Perfect early fall weather with great visibility. Trails largely deserted, crowded on top.

I climbed this one after doing Esther. I felt like I was storming a castle when I got to the tall stone wall supporting the auto road. The people eating lunch at the summit building who had driven up the auto road looked at me like I was nuts. Great view from the top though.

I'll admit, I kind of cheated on this one. Instead of climbing from a trailhead, I wanted to set aside some time to see the town. So...I took the road up to the parking lot.
But, there is a twist. I went up the tourist walkway to the summit, but headed down the Wilmington trail to where it meets the road 450 ft below. Then, back up to the summit up the very same trail, just to get the feel of walking the more alpine parts of Whiteface. In all, about 800ft vertical gain.